August 12, 2023 Dairy Star - 2nd section

Nolt installs robotic milking system to aid farm’s longevity

By Amy Kyllo amy.k@star-pub.com

DODGE CENTER,

Minn. – Delvin Nolt’s journey to install a robotic milking system has been a story of perseverance through loss.

Nolt milks 120 cows with an AMS Galaxy Astrea 20.20 robotic milking system on his dairy farm near Dodge Center. Nolt is assisted by his parents, Warren and Lois, and children.

The robot is comprised of one system with two stalls. A center arm pivots from side to side to milk accordingly.

Nolt began considering robots in 2018.

“It just seemed like it was kind of the way of the future,” Nolt said.

In the spring of 2019, Nolt’s brother, who was farming in partnership with Nolt and his parents, moved his family to West Virginia.

That fall, Nolt’s wife, Christy, was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma. She was treated with chemotherapy and had a transplant; a short time

Driven to the future

of remission and then a relapse followed. In September 2021, Christy passed. Nolt was raising four children at home and was working alongside a pair of dedicated but aging parents.

“That was a game changer,” Nolt said. “At that point, we were still talking robots, and I told the guys that I’ve been working with, ‘I need space. I need time. We need to see if this is what we’re going to still do.’”

Nolt said his faith and a supportive community of friends and neighbors kept him going through the dark days.

After a time of grief and reection, Nolt decided to proceed with installing robots.

“Looking forward, that was the only way that I could see it feasible that I could run an operation by myself with my children,” Nolt said.

Nolt and his father had to decide between two brands of robots. At the time, Nolt’s father remembered reading an article about a farmer with an AMS system.

When Nolt’s father called the farmer referenced in the 2019 article, not only did they learn they could look at the robot but the robot was also for sale. After negotiations, they placed a down payment on the robot in the spring of 2022 and started construction in the fall.

Before the transition, the Nolts had been milking in a

double-3 stall parlor attached to their sand-bedded freestall barn.

To accommodate the robot, they built an addition onto their barn next to the milking area. Nolt also shored up the freestall barn, putting on a new roof with insulation under it and putting a concrete

bib around the base of the barn to strengthen it. They kept the milking area fully operational throughout construction. When it came time to transition, they simply sent the cows through a different gate than usual.

The cows were used to going through a narrow path to access the milking stalls, so us-

ing the guided-ow sort gates, lanes and commitment area was an easy transition, Nolt said.

“That didn’t seem to faze them at all,” Nolt said. “It almost seemed like they liked it.”

Turn to NOLT | Page 4

Midwest Livestock Systems LLC Zumbrota, MN, Menomonie, WI, Renner, SD KBS Inc. Plainview, MN

Anibas Silo & Equipment Inc. Arkansaw, WI Brubacker Ag Equipment Curtiss, WI, Edgar, WI, Boscobel, WI

Steinhart’s Farm Service Inc. Platteville, WI Chippewa Farm Service LLC Chippewa Falls, WI

Ruf’s Farm Service Inc. Darlington, WI Brunkan Equipment Inc. Worthington, IA

AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR

Brenden (from le ), Maleah, Delvin and Deklan Nolt pause from their work Aug. 4 on their dairy farm near Dodge Center, Minnesota. Nolt installed a robo c milking system because adding the technology allowed him to con nue to dairy farm a er his wife’s passing and as his parents wanted to slow down. Not pictured is Nolt’s son, Shawn.

Celebrating 25 Years

The cows rst came through the robots on June 13. For the rst week, there was extra hands on the technical side and on the cow side. The transition went well, albeit Nolt said he got about two to three hours of sleep during the rst weeks.

Once the farm has fully adjusted, Nolt plans to demolish the old milking area and use the area for cows that need extra attention.

Nolt’s cows wear leg monitors. When they come onto the sensor, the automated sort gates sort the cows depending on how recently they have been milked. Cows that have been milked in the last eight hours are sent through to the feed bunks. Cows who have not been milked in eight hours are sent to the robot. Nolt receives alerts through an app if a cow has not been milked recently.

Cows receive grain at the robot, but Nolt specically has most of his bunks set up beyond the robot so that the grain at the robot is not the main driver for the cows to want to be milked. He also put in a high-moisture corn feeder that he will start using after high-moisture corn harvest.

“If I can keep my feed on farm, raise it and grow it and feed it myself, that’s more economical,” he said.

Nolt has 200 acres of cropland and is able to raise most of his own feed except for some grain mixes that he purchases. He puts up his hay for baleage, and a custom harvester puts up corn si-

lage. Any corn left after silage goes for high-moisture corn.

The transition to robots has allowed Nolt’s parents to reduce their workload. Before the robot, they had been the main milkers. Today, they are involved with calf feeding, and Warren does the breeding. Nolt said he is grateful for their work to continue milking until the robot was installed and for the help they gave him and his family as they walked through grief.

“They deserve some recognition,” he said.

Nolt said the robot has meant their work looks different.

“It’s a lot easier,” he said. “It’s not quite as physically stressful and labor intense.”

Nolt said the robot has made his schedule much more exible. He hopes his time in the barn in ve to 10 years is minimal.

“I hope that I’m in the barn a half hour, morning and evening,” he said. “The robot is just clicking along. The cows are doing just great.”

Nolt said he does not know whether any of his children will take over the farm. His daughter, Maleah, has become more interested in the farm and more involved since the transition. The facility does have space for expansion.

“I was hoping that by doing this, this will nish out my career,” Nolt said. “I gured in the next 20 years, I’m going to be the one who’s going to be looking to exit.”

AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR

Cows are milked in the robo c milking system July 25 at the Nolt farm near Dodge Center, Minnesota. Delvin Nolt said the robot has made his schedule more exible and his work less physically stressful and labor intense.

GEA SP-LP-BOATS

GEA AP-A-18

The “Mielke”

Cheese helps support Class III futures

The July federal order Class III benchmark milk price hit bottom, falling to $13.77 per hundredweight, down $1.14 from June, $8.75 below July 2022, and the lowest since May 2020. The seven-month average stands at $16.95, down from $22.89 at this time a year ago, and compares to $16.90 in 2021.

Late Friday morning, Class III futures portended an August price at $17.24; September, $17.53; October, $17.54; November, $18.21; and December, $18.30.

The Class IV price is $18.26, unchanged from June but $7.53 below a year ago. Its average stands at $18.55, down from $24.83 a year ago, and compares to $15.01 in 2021.

Just as the U.S. credit standing was reduced this week from AAA to AA+, dairy nances aren’t looking any better either. Corn, soybean and alfalfa hay prices were down in June, but so was the All Milk price. The Ag Prices report shows the milk feed ratio at 1.36, down from 1.42 in April and 1.92 in June 2022. It was the sixth consecutive decline and the lowest since July 2012’s 1.33.

The All Milk price average was down for the eighth consecutive month, dropping to $17.90 per cwt, down $1.40 from May and $8.80 below June 2022.

The national corn price averaged $6.49 per bushel, down a nickel from May and 89 cents per bushel below June 2022. Soybeans averaged $14.20 per bushel, down 20 cents from May and $2.20 per bushel below a year ago. Alfalfa dropped to $263 per ton, down $16 from May but still $18 per ton above a year ago.

The June cull price for beef and dairy combined climbed to an average $107 per cwt, up $4 from May, $16.80 above June 2022, and $35.40 above the 2011 base average.

Quarterly milk cow replacements averaged $1,760 per head in July, up $40 from April, and $50 above July 2022. Cows averaged $1,665 per head in

California, up $10 from April, but $85 below a year ago. Wisconsin’s average, at $1,910 per head, was up $70 from April and $40 above July 2022.

Income over feed costs in June were below the $8-per-cwt level needed for steady to higher milk production for the fth month in a row, according to dairy economist Bill Brooks, of Stoneheart Consulting in Dearborn, Missouri. Brooks said, “Input prices were lower, but all three commodities were in the top ve for June all time. Feed costs were the second highest ever for the month of June and the sixteenth highest of all time.”

Milk income over feed costs for 2023 (using July 28 CME settling futures prices for Class III milk, corn and soybeans plus the Stoneheart forecast for alfalfa hay) are expected to be $7.82 per cwt, a gain of 61 cents per cwt versus last month’s estimate. 2023 income over feed would be below the level needed to maintain or grow milk production and down $4.17 per cwt from 2022’s level, Brooks said.

Milk income over feed in 2024 is expected to be $10.86 per cwt, a gain of 97 cents per cwt versus the 2023 estimate. Income over feed in 2024 would be above the level needed to maintain or grow milk production, according to Brooks.

Brooks said, “The current decline in protability has not negatively impacted milk cow prices, and the improved outlook is lending support, as milk cow prices increased after holding steady in April.”

Meanwhile, the June Dairy Margin Coverage margin dropped $1.18 per cwt from a month earlier to $3.65, rst time it’s been below $4 per cwt since margin protection became the basic federal safety net mechanism for dairy in 2014, according to the National Milk Producers Federation.

“It will generate a lot of 35-cent-per-cwt payments for Tier 2 coverage at the free $4 per cwt coverage level, as well as payments of $5.85 per cwt for coverage at the maximum $9.50 Tier 1 coverage level,” NMPF said. Forecasts indicate the margin will improve slightly in July from the June level, then in-

crease rapidly from August through October and approach $9.50 per cwt by December.

Dairy margins did improve the second half of July as a continued recovery in milk prices more than offset a slight increase in projected feed costs, according to the latest Margin Watch from Chicago-based Commodity and Ingredient Hedging LLC. MW cited the sharp gains in cheese which helped support Class III futures while gains butter were supportive to Class IV futures.

“USDA’s semi-annual Cattle Report estimated the total U.S. supply of dairy heifers as of July 1 at 3.65 million head, down 100,000, or 3%, below a year ago,” MW said. “The dairy heifer count has dropped for seven consecutive years as dairy producers have been economically incentivized to introduce beef genetics into their breeding programs. The growing trend of beef-dairy crosses continues to reduce the number of dairy heifers and, combined with increasing cull rates, will slow the pace of expansion in the next cycle. Recent rainfall and benecial forecasts moving into early August have taken risk premium out of the feed markets following a spike in the rst half of the month.”

This week’s Crop Progress Report shows 84% of U.S. corn was silking, as of the week ending July 30, up from 68% the previous week, 7% ahead of a year ago and 2% ahead of the ve year average. 29% was in the dough stage, 5% ahead of a year ago. 55% was rated good to excellent, down 2% from the previous week and down from 61% a year ago.

The report shows 83% of the soybeans blooming, up from 70% the previous week, 6% ahead of a year ago and 5% ahead of the average. 50% were setting pods, up from 35% the previous week and 9% ahead of a year ago. 52% were rated good to excellent, down 2% from the previous week and 8% behind a year ago.

HighGround Dairy said, “Over half the corn and soybean crop is in drought conditions. Parts of Kan-

Second Section • Saturday, August 12, 2023 sas, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Texas were categorized in extreme and exceptional droughts, making these some of the hardest hit in the U.S. On the other hand, ooding in the Eastern U.S. has damaged crops, mainly in Vermont and Kentucky.”

The week ending July 22 saw 61,200 dairy cows go to slaughter, up 1,600 head from the previous week and 3,700, or 6.4%, more than a year ago. Year-todate, 1,792,100 cows have been culled, up 97,200 head, or 5.7%, from a year ago.

CME cheese prices may have shot up too fast and too high. Block cheddar closed the rst Friday of August at $1.9650 per pound, up 5.75 cents on the week, up 63 cents in ve weeks, highest since March 28, and 18 cents above a year ago.

The barrels jumped almost 11 cents Monday, hitting $1.87, highest since March 30, but fell back Thursday and Friday, closing at $1.7750, up 1.25 cents on the week, 1.75 cents below a year ago and 19 cents below the blocks.

Sales totaled two cars of block for the week and 61 for the month of July, down from 122 in June. Barrel sales totaled seven for the week and 169 for the month of July, down from 106 in June.

Midwestern cheesemakers say cheese continues to move steadily though some fear rising prices may slow that. Milk prices were still below Class by $2 or thereabouts, a stark contrast from mid-July when they were at $10 and $11 under.

Western cheese demand is strong to steady, though sources indicate a healthier demand for block cheese. Sentiments of decreasing milk output and equipment maintenance contributing to bullish market prices was noted. Demand for Class III milk is strong, but there is enough to run strong to steady cheese production.

Cash butter ended seven consecutive gains and fell to a $2.62-per-pound close, losing 6 cents on the week and 39 cents below a year ago when it topped $3. The week saw 33 loads of butter sold and 150 for July, up from just 67 in June.

Butter has tightened signicantly in the Central region, said DMN. Brokers say their focus has shifted west for any extra supply. Midwest cream is tight, and churning is expected to continue, but locating cream at or below the 1.30 multiple has become a “fruitless endeavor.” That said, cream availability reached further into the summer months than many expected, with milder summer temperatures at least in the evenings and early mornings in the Upper Midwest. Not so for Southern Central contacts where cream access quickly tightened.

Cream is more available in northern parts of the West compared to southern parts, but northern cream is tightening. Declines in milk components are more pronounced in the southern parts. Butter production is strong, and demand is strong to steady. Export demand is light aside from interest from Canadian purchasers, but U.S. prices are not competitive globally.

Wounded by Tuesday’s Global Dairy Trade spot, Grade A nonfat dry milk fell back to $1.12 per pound Thursday but closed Friday at $1.1250, 3.50 cents lower on the week and 37.75 cents below a year ago. There were 22 sales on the week and 41 for July, down from 49 in June.

Dry whey closed Friday at 27.25 cents per pound, up 2.25 cents on the week but 16.25 cents below a year ago. Sales totaled seven loads for the week and 152 for the month of July, down from 218 in June.

The July 28 Daily Dairy Report had bad news for U.S. whey exports. The DDR said, “African swine fever continues to spread in parts of Southeast Asia. The virus has largely run its course in China, home to more than half the world’s pigs, but the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization reported several new outbreaks this month in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam.”

China reported its rst outbreak in August 2018, according to the DDR, and by 2019, Chinese lactose imports plummeted 20.8% year over year, and whey imports dropped 18.6%, according to Trade Data Monitor. Lactose and whey have been important sources of carbohydrates and protein, respectively, for piglets, the DDR said, and by 2020, the Chinese hog herd had shrunk 30%. Swine industries in Southeast Asia have yet to fully recover from the earlier ASF setbacks, according to the DDR.

International dairy trade remains depressed. Tuesday’s GDT auction saw the weighted average drop 4.3%, following the 1% decline July 18 and the 3.3% fall July 4. Traders brought 71.9 million pounds of product to market, up from 57.2 million July 18 and the most since Jan. 3. The average metric ton price fell to $3,100, down from $3,289 July 18.

Whole milk powder led the declines, dropping 8% after slipping 1.5% July 18. Skim milk powder

was down 1.4% following a 0.6% slip. Cheddar was also down 1.4% after a 10.1% dive July 18. Butter was off 0.7% after falling 2.7%, and anhydrous milkfat was down 0.5% after gaining 3.4% last time. Buttermilk powder showed the only gain, up 9.9%. It did not trade last time.

StoneX said the GDT 80% butterfat butter price equates to $2.0709 per pound, down 1.1 cents from the July 18 event, and compares to CME butter which closed Friday at a pricy $2.62. GDT cheddar, at $1.7735, was down 2.1 cents after losing 19.5 cents last time, and compares to Friday’s CME block cheddar at $1.9650. GDT skim milk powder averaged $1.1130 per pound, down from $1.1353. Whole milk powder averaged $1.2993 per pound, down from $1.4060, a loss of 10.7 cents. CME Grade A nonfat dry milk closed Friday at $1.1250 per pound.

Analyst Dustin Winston said, “The market share of Southeast Asia fell below the North Asia market share for the rst time in two months. North Asia volume bounced back in a big way this auction, nearly doubling from the last event and up from last year. Southeast Asia volume, on the other hand, fell from both last year and last event. Alongside North Asia, the Middle East and South/Central America both increased from last year and last event.”

August GDT auctions have consistently shown a negative trend since 2017, said HighGround Dairy, and the overall winning price settled at its lowest level in almost three years. HGD anticipated weaker prices due to persistently bearish demand signals, most notably from China. Despite the fact that “boots on the ground” chatter continues to reiterate a quiet Chinese market, the region’s market share did increase, surpassing volumes procured from the region at this time last year, as well as the prior event.

HGD adds that Fonterra has reduced its 202324 season forecast Farmgate Milk Price range from $7.25-$8.75 per kilograms of milk solids, with a midpoint of $8, to $6.25-$7.75 per kgMS, with a midpoint of $7. Fonterra CEO Miles Hurrell said, “The revised forecast reects ongoing reduced import demand for whole milk powder from Greater China.”

Lucas Fuess, Rabo Bank senior dairy analyst, reported in the Aug. 7 Dairy Radio Now broadcast that the Aug. 1 GDT saw one of the lowest demand readings ever seen for whole milk powder and pointed to Fonterra offering increasing volumes as milk production ramps up in New Zealand at this time of year. He blamed slow demand in many parts of the world, including China, but also buyers anticipating higher availability in the next few months.

The situation points to continued low prices, he warned. China still takes a signicant share of the purchases but not enough to drive prices higher. It’s

also a contrast to the rising prices we’re seeing in the U.S., particularly on cheese and butter as concerns rise over falling milk output and herd size. Fuess warned, however, that we may not be out of the woods of low prices just yet.

Cooperatives Working Together member cooperatives accepted 11 offers of export assistance this week that helped capture sales of 93,000 pounds of American-type cheese and 454,000 pounds of cream cheese. The product is going to customers in Oceania and Asia and will be delivered through October.

CWT’s 2023 exports now total 27.6 million pounds of American-type cheeses, 809,000 pounds of butter, 24,000 pounds of anhydrous milkfat, 31.4 million pounds of whole milk powder and 5.9 million pounds of cream cheese. The products are going to 24 countries and the equivalent of 548.9 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis.

ROERS WHITEWASHING & STEAM

and Light Bulbs cleaned at the end of job.

OBERHOLTZER AUCTIONS

Special Dairy Cattle Auction

Thursday, August 17th

Hay 10:00 a.m. • Cattle 11:00 a.m.

Early Consignments

3 young Jersey cows all fresh 45 days and milking well. Coming from reputation consignor, Marlin Martin. 3 Jersey cows fresh 30-75 days & milking well. 7 Holstein cows from overstocked herd. Young cows in all stages of lactation.

PENDING: Complete dispersal 41 holstein tie stall cows in all stages, many fresh cows!

EXPECTING OUR USUAL RUN OF 300-400 HEAD ADVANCE NOTICE:

Special Breeding Bull Sale

Thursday,

August 31st

Offering 12 Holstein breeding bulls from Dorchester Holsteins, Irvin Martin, Dorchester WI. These will all be guaranteed sound with some variation of registered, polled, A2A2, and Red & White bulls being offered!! Bulls will have dam production records and some will have aAa information available. An excellent, excellent opportunity to upgrade your breeding power! For more information on specific bulls, contact Irvin Martin @ 715-654-5308

August already?? Where has the year gone?!

Supreme quality Dairy cows sold higher. Top $2,725, $2,525 Wilson Brubacker, Stratford. Many good cows $1,400-1,900. Plain or blemished cows mostly market price. Springing Holstein heifers $1,600- 2,000. Opens $1.15-1.50 Jersey opens $1.10-1.20. Single birth Holstein heifer calves $75-180. Breeding bulls $800-1,725. Market bulls $121-135. Choice holstein steers $155-167 this week with crossbreds $162-173. Holstein fdr strs $150-250. Beef feeders up to $325NT. Holstein bull calves $125-350. Crossbred bull & heifer calves $300-590. Market cows continue strong. 52% sold $100-119. Top $123. Only 10% under $85. Large selection of grass hay. Rounds and squares $50-75. 3x4x8 alfalfa $190-230. Large squares local wheat straw $55. Small squares wheat straw $3.75. Thank you all buyers and sellers, we really appreciate your business!!

SALEs SCHEDULE

Dairy & Hay sale EVERY Thursday starting with hay @ 10:00 followed by Dairy Cows @ 11:00 sharp, then bred heifers, open heifers and feeders followed by calves, market bulls, fat cattle and cull cows. Special feeder sale 2nd & 4th Thursday. WATCH OUR

SALE CONDUCTED BY:

Oberholtzer

MARKET REPORT FOR MONDAY, JULY 31ST SALE

Grain Markets

August 9, 2023

Other Oats Soybeans Corn

As mentioned in the last issue, my wife Carla and I completed our Midwest crop tour. After 4 days and 1900 miles of nothing but highway my beautiful wife, Carla, was definitely ready to crawl off the bike. We drove through Southern Minnesota, Southern Wisconsin, central Illinois, NE Missouri, hit most of Iowa, and NE Nebraska. All in all, the crops looked pretty good with the worst being in Stearns county MN, most of Southern MN, and parts of NE Missouri. From our roadside view it is not a bumper crop, but it could still make a respectable yield if it gets a good finish. Illinois was definitely the surprise as USDA has very low crop ratings for that state. As we rode from Rockford to Springfield, Illinois and then West we did not see a field that showed visual crop stress. August has cooler temps and more rain in the forecast. This is allowing grain prices to take some of the weather premium off the table. DVI is projecting a 175.5 corn and 50.5 soybean yield in its crop production models. Soybeans still have the critical month of August to go through so this yield estimate is still highly dependent on rains over the next 3-5 weeks. Much of the trade is using a corn yield of 173.5 to 177 and soybeans of 50-52.5. The lower end of this range still keeps prices sensitive to tight stocks with the upper end of the corn

range providing a production level that could pressure prices lower. The U.S. soybean supply situation appears to be tighter than normal.

The cheese market finally found some life with blocks and barrels trading as high as $1.96 and $1.85, respectively. Why now? It appears that summer heat, aggressive cow culling, and some herd liquidation in areas of the country have helped to tighten the milk supply. This is a fairly normal seasonal tendency for the July-September period. The surprise for this year was it took its time to get here.

Butter prices continue to remain resiliently strong trading to near $2.70 per pound in recent weeks. In past issues I have been surprised at how well U.S. butter prices have performed. U.S. butter stocks continue to remain tight. EU and NZ butter markets are trading well below U.S. at $2.18 and $2.11, respectively.

Powder markets have seen some price strength with spot whey trading to 27 cents and nonfat dry milk $1.12. Although it is probably a dead cat price bounce, we have to cheer for all we can get.

Spader

Diversity in San Diego County

Dairy ts in well with other Konyn businesses

By Jan Lefebvre jan.l@star-pub.com

ESCONDIDO, Ca-

lif. – San Pasqual Valley in southern California is a designated agricultural preserve, but it only has one dairy farm. In fact, Konyn Dairy, which has existed since 1962, is the last remaining dairy farm in all of San Diego County.

Owner Frank Konyn said his dairy survives because of diversication through the family’s other businesses, which include crop farming, a compost company and a trucking business.

“We refer to the dairy as the mother ship, and the farming and soils and trucking businesses are the satellite businesses,” Konyn said. “Those businesses do not exist without the mothership, but the mothership doesn’t exist without the support of the satellite businesses. If I didn’t have these supporting businesses, my dairy farm would have been gone a long time

ago.” The dairy milks 880 cows, mostly Holsteins, using two double-8 parlors. The 8,000 gallons of milk produced on the farm is picked up daily by California Dairies Inc., a cooperative of which Konyn is one of the member owners. California Dairies owns the Challenge butter label.

The other dairy farmers in the co-op are located in other parts of the state.

“An hour north of here … at one time had one of the top 10 counties in the United States for dairy, and that’s drastically decreased over time in the past 20 years,” Konyn said. “My nearest neighbor dairy farm is now about an hour and a half away.”

Konyn Dairy and all businesses in the San Pasqual Valley are entities owned by the business owners themselves, but they operate on land owned and leased from the city of San Diego, which is about half an

hour away from Konyn Dairy. Konyn manages 775 acres of that land on which he runs his several businesses that together employ about 60 people whom Konyn credits for the businesses’ success.

“One man cannot do it alone,” he said.

The nearest town to Konyn Dairy is Escondido, about 10 minutes away and with a population of 150,270 people, making it the 38th most populated city in the state out of 1,571 cities.

“This is southern California, so there are plenty of people and plenty of trafc,” Konyn said. “I am not out in the open.”

Konyn said his dairy could not survive nancially without his other businesses.

“There’s something that chaps my hide, and it’s that the consuming public does not recognize that so many of us are subsidizing the dairy and the economic viability of the dairy with off-farm income of some sort, even for the ones who have their own processing facilities or an on-farm creamery or something like that,” Konyn said. “It’s always a sadness on

my part that that’s the way it is.”

One of Konyn’s other businesses is San Pasqual Valley Soils.

“It’s a composting operation where we receive greens waste from landscapers and from the local utility company

when they are clearing trees from underneath powerlines,” Konyn said.

“We grind that greens waste and co-compost it with cow manure and then produce a variety of products.”

SPVS, launched in 2007, now offers 40

products, about a quarter of them having a cowmanure base and made by the business itself. The rest are products purchased by the business at wholesale or discount and

PHOTO SUBMITTED

The Konyn family – Kiara (from le ), Stacy, Frank, Teo and Kylie – stand on their dairy farm in spring of 2021 near Escondido, California. The Konyns own and operate the last remaining dairy farm in San Diego County.

Turn to KONYN | Page 12

then retailed. Customers come in to dump their greens waste and landscape trimmings and, at the same time, pick up what they need for their next landscaping projects.

“That’s a signicant amount of bioproducts that we’re bringing in and feeding our animals, creating a win-win situation for animal agriculture next to an urban area,” Konyn said. “The urban area has these byproducts or these waste products that the cows can turn around and upcycle into human-consumable foods again.”

The trucking company started out, Konyn said, with a three-quarter-ton pickup truck and a little dump trailer behind it.

“At the end of this year, we’re going to have nine semitrucks on the road,” Konyn said. “Everything starts small, and we just keep pushing forward. That’s that Dutch stubbornness.”

farm was not going to support all of them,” Konyn said. “He came to this country wearing his brother’s clothes and having maybe $2 in his pocket.”

Konyn said his father had been part of the Dutch Resistance in World War II and met Konyn’s mother after the war when she, also Dutch but born in the U.S., went with her family to help relatives in Holland with war recovery. After his father immigrated to the U.S., he earned citizenship through participation in the Korean War. He leased land in San Diego County to start a dairy farm, and that land is part of where the farm and other Konyn businesses still exist today, 61 years later.

The same kind of growth happened with Konyn’s trucking business – KD Farms Trucking. Today, the trucks pick up waste products across the county from ve fruit juice manufacturers; 13 bakeries, bread factories, and tortilla makers; and 19 breweries as well as make compost deliveries.

Konyn comes from a line of dairy farmers who originate from Holland. His dad, Frank Konyn Sr., was born to a dairyfarming family there. Konyn said he still has cousins milking on that same dairy today.

“My dad came from a family of eight children, and there was not going to be enough opportunity over there; the

Konyn has inherited his father’s drive to dairy farm.

“It’s just something that’s in your roots; it’s in your blood,” he said. “Everybody has addictions. My addiction is dairy farming.”

The farm his father started and he now owns has allowed Konyn’s children to grow up in the dairy-farming lifestyle in the middle of suburbia. Konyn’s wife, Stacy, was an FFA instructor when they met, and together they have raised their children in the dairy tradition, all three children showing cattle and helping with chores. The oldest, Kylie, is now at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, hoping to someday earn a doctorate in bovine nutrition. The Konyns’ other children, twins Kiara and Teo, are in high school.

“It’s a wonderful lifestyle, and to be able to bring them up in this lifestyle is incredible,” Konyn said. “They got to see real life. They got to see birth, they got to see death, and they got to see the heartbreaks when you wanted a heifer calf and you got a bull calf or the heartbreaks when your matriarch of your small little herd nally passes on. They received reallife lessons.”

Konyn said he wants to keep building and adding to the family businesses, making sure they are thriving if any of

Cows graze in spring of 2021 on Konyn Dairy in the San Pasqual Valley of southern California. The dairy milks 880 cows, producing 8,000 gallons of milk daily.

his children ever want to make their career there someday. The latest business Konyn has added is eucalyptus farming.

“A neighbor was retiring and had this eucalyptus oral business,” Konyn said. “(The neighbor) said, ‘Are you interested?’ I said, ‘Yes, no problem, let’s do it.’ … Don’t be afraid just because you don’t know how to do something.”

Konyn grows a variety of eucalyptus breeds, some fresh for oral ller and sold to local wholesalers, the rest picked and preserved into different colors and shipped all over North America and Canada to wholesale brokers. Konyn said the venture is going well so far.

“I never understand these businesses around here that get a group of investors together, build a concept and then say, ‘Oh, it’s not making enough money, so we’ll just fold up shop,’” Konyn said. “I’m the guy who thinks, ‘You’ve gone this far. Don’t give up now. Keep pushing.’”

He and Stacy also talk about expanding more into ecotourism – Stacy already manages the many tours that take place on the farm – and possi-

bly building their own processing facility on their site someday.

When Konyn’s father was ready to retire, Konyn said he was at rst disappointed when his father made him earn and pay for the farm business instead of just handing over the reins. Over time, Konyn’s attitude changed.

“(My father) said his greatest joy was coming over here with nothing and achieving something, and he wanted to give me that same opportunity,” Konyn said. “Now that I’m 50, I understand better.”

Konyn said building his dairy farm and other businesses has brought him a sense of accomplishment.

“As I look around me now where I’ve achieved some of my own businesses, starting them from scratch and building them up, I can appreciate what my dad said,” Konyn said. “It’s hard to put a value on the ability to look behind you and see what you’ve created and what you’ve accomplished. People who are just given something don’t get to have that pride and satisfaction.”

DATES:

Tues., Aug 8 Feeder & Slaughter Cattle Sale with hay/straw, baby calves, feeder cattle, replacement cattle, goats, sheep, hogs, fat and slaughter cattle

Fri., Aug 11 Dairy Sale - Noon

SALE Loader Edges Grader Blades Snow Plow Blades Custom Edges Skid Steer Blades Box Scraper Dozer Blades Wear Steel

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Unused produce from area food processing companies is used to feed cows at Konyn Dairy near Escondido, California. Besides the dairy farm, the Konyn family runs a trucking company, compost business, crop farm and eucalyptus-growing business.

Working together on, off the farm Working together on, off the farm

Langrehrs

combine efforts to run family dairy

By Abby Wiedmeyer abby.w@dairystar.com

WEST SALEM, Wis. –

The fog hung heavy over the buildings at Lang Haven in La Crosse County on the morning of Aug. 3, setting the scene for the humid, 91-degree day that lay ahead. Don and Kathy Langrehr began their day with the regular chores of milking,

feeding and hauling manure. Don and Kathy took over the farm in 1996 from Kathy’s parents. Today, their daughter, Kirstie, helps manage the herd health on the farm in between her route as a breeder for ABS. Their other daughter, Jenna, helps when she is home visiting from her job as communications assistant for World Dairy Expo in Madison. Their son, Jaymes, works off the

farm.

Don scraped the freestall barn while Kathy started milking. Upon returning to the yard, Don discovered a couple of loose calves, and with the

bribe of grain and the help of the dog, the calves were returned to their huts.

“I normally don’t feed grain right away,” Don said. “But, it’s a good way to get

them back in.”

With the dog, Zeke, close behind, Don continued to feed

ABBY WIEDMEYER/DAIRY STAR

Kathy Langrehr milks cows Aug. 3 on her farm near West Salem, Wisconsin. Kathy helped with chores un�l 7:30 a.m. when she le� for her off-farm job at a veterinary office.

ABBY WIEDMEYER/DAIRY STAR

Don Langrehr feeds bull calves Aug. 3 on his farm near West Salem, Wisconsin. The Langrehrs have a niche market for their Guernsey gene�cs, and these bulls will be raised and marketed privately.

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milk to the calves while Kathy kept the cows moving through the parlor.

The herd of Guernsey and Holsteins is a source of pride for the family, with original genetics stemming from the Hoard’s Dairyman Farm where Don and Kathy worked as herdsmen in the late 1980s. They bought one animal from the farm when they moved back to the West Salem area in 1995 when they took over from Kathy’s parents.

Once the calves were fed, Don nished up milking so Kathy could go to work at the veterinary ofce. After the last of the cows were milked and the parlor was washed, Don hauled manure and fed the cows. The cows are housed in a sand-bedded freestall barn that was built when the parlor was installed in 1996.

ABBY WIEDMEYER/DAIRY STAR

The cows at Lang Haven rest a er milking Aug. 3 near West Salem, Wisconsin. The sand-bedded freestall barn was built in 1996 when Don and Kathy Langrehr took over from Kathy’s parents.

ABBY WIEDMEYER/DAIRY STAR

Kirs e Langrehr selects a straw of semen Aug. 3 from her work truck. Kirs e runs a breeding route in southeast Minnesota and then helps her parents on their dairy near West Salem, Wisconsin.

ABBY WIEDMEYER/DAIRY STAR

Kirs e Langrehr breeds a cow Aug. 3 on her breeding route in southeast Minnesota. Kirs e nished her route about 3 p.m. and spent the evening helping her parents with chores on their dairy near West Salem, Wisconsin.

Kirstie lives not far away and begins her day with a breeding route in southeast Minnesota. On this day, she visited eight farms. Kirstie said she enjoys the balance that having an off-farm career provides.

“I like that I don’t have to spend every minute of the day with my dad, but I still get to work with him every day,” Kirstie said. “Plus, the off-farm job funds my cow habit.”

Kirstie and Jenna both enjoy showing as time allows. The family also serves as mentors for local kids who show their Guernsey cattle at the fair.

Kirstie returned from her breeding route around 3 p.m. and picked up Jenna, who was working from home for the week. The pair joined their parents at the farm for night chores, which included lling water tanks and feeding the heifers. Kirstie helped her mom in the parlor with milking and herd health while Jenna helped her dad feed calves.

With the sun setting behind the barns and the humidity nally starting to lift, the Langrehrs nished chores like they always do – as a team.

“We all work together to get things done,” Don said.

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ABBY WIEDMEYER/DAIRY STAR

Heifers nish their morning grain Aug. 3 at the Langrehrs’ farm near West Salem, Wisconsin. The Langrehr family milks a herd of 60 cows, most of which are registered Guernseys.

Farming

Value-added products provide additional revenue Michielsons develop niche market for sheep dairy

By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com

LADYSMITH, Wis. –

Tucked away in the gently rolling hills of Rusk County sits Maple Hill Farm, the home of Brian and Tammy Michielson where they milk 70 dairy sheep, primarily East Friesian with a few Lacaune mixed in. The Michielsons also raise beef, sheep and poultry for direct market sales from their on-farm store along with a variety of value-added products made from milk produced by their sheep.

Milking sheep was not the rst plan that came to mind for the Michielsons when they purchased their farm near Ladysmith in 2006, but fate soon intervened.

“We had originally thought about milking goats, but at the time, there really wasn’t a market for goat milk in this area,” Brian said. “We learned about the dairy sheep ock at the University of Wisconsin’s Spooner Research Station and attended a program there where we learned

about sheep dairying.”

Milking sheep turned out to be the t the Michielsons were looking for. With the help of the shepherd at the UW Spooner Research Station, the Michielsons became acquainted with the Wisconsin Sheep Dairy Cooperative.

“There were several other ocks in the area, largely because of the work being done at the research station, so there was a market for sheep milk,” Tammy said. “The WSDC marketed our milk for us, and the milk in our area was collectively marketed to a couple of processors.”

The Michielsons began marketing their milk through WSDC in 2009. Since then, they have begun marketing directly to Carr Valley Cheese, of La Valle, along with three other sheep dairies in the area. The Michielsons negotiate their pay price with Carr Valley Cheese on an annual basis.

“That is really helpful, knowing what your price will be throughout the year,” Tammy said. “It makes it easier to bud-

get and plan.”

The Michielsons’ ock averages between a 6% to 6.5% butterfat test throughout the year. Their milk is picked up by Carr Valley Cheese twice a

week. At their peak production, they ship nearly 2,000 pounds of milk per week.

While shipping milk to be made into specialty cheeses allowed the Michielsons to pursue

their ambition of developing a dairy sheep herd, Tammy could not help but feel like there was Turn

DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR

Tammy and Brian Michielson stand in their on-farm store July 21 at Maple Hill Farm near Ladysmith, Wisconsin. The Michielsons milk 70 sheep and direct-market meat and value-added products from their store.

untapped market potential in a different avenue as well. When they established the Maple Hill Farm Store in 2011 to market the meat raised on the farm, she began exploring potential streams of revenue generation.

“I am a crafty person by nature and decided I wanted to try making soap,” Tammy said. “It took me about a year to work up the nerve to try and make soap. I was apprehensive about working with the lye. But once I nally did it, I realized it wasn’t so bad. I have very sensitive skin and break out from everything, so I went with just natural ingredients: essential oils, no fragrances, everything plant-based.”

Once Tammy became comfortable with the process, she put her focus into creating a successful cottage industry. She spent a couple of years becoming comfortable with the soap-making process before branching out and making lotions and other milk-based products.

“We had a room in the house that we didn’t use much; it was previously meant to be a sun room of sorts,” Tammy said. “We converted that into my kitchen for making the soap. We put down laminate and stainless steel. Everything is inspected and up to code. We didn’t actually pursue a license because we didn’t need one, but if we decided to go a route that required a license, it would be easy to obtain one.”

The Michielsons milk seasonally, with their lambing season beginning in January, and have their ock dried off by early to mid-October.

Brian said their lambing season is scheduled that way based off of studies done at the UW Spooner Research Station to determine the best time for sheep to lamb for optimal production.

“That study showed that as the days become longer, the sheep milk more,” Brian said. “Through their research, they found that January was the ideal time to lamb dairy sheep. We can see their production climb through June, but as the days begin to shorten, we can see that just as quickly.”

The earliest milk produced by the sheep does not work for making cheese or for making Tammy’s products.

“We start shipping milk the beginning of February, and our last load usually is shipped by mid-September,” Brian said.

Because of their seasonal lambing, the Michielsons said the soap and lotion business creates both benets and challenges.

“The soap and lotions really help to maintain our income through the months when we aren’t shipping milk,” Tammy said. “However, it also is months that I don’t have access to milk other than what we have frozen throughout the year.”

Tammy averages four days a week working in her kitchen creating the value-added products. She said they use 1,500 to 2,000 pounds of milk per year for those products.

Besides marketing the products they produce on their farm through their farm store, the Michielsons participate in the farmers markets in both the towns of Bruce and Ladysmith.

“People will tell us we should go to markets here or there, but we prefer to stay local,” Brian said. “We want the farmers markets to create bonds with local customers who will visit our on-farm store outside of the farmers market.”

The Michielsons said they are pleased with how their marketing plan worked. Searching out an avenue for additional growth, they developed a website to market the milk-based soaps and lotions.

“That took off well, and that is what got us through (the coronavirus pandemic),” Tammy said. “I did a few online shows, talking about the products, and was able to drive more trafc to the website.”

In addition to retailing their products, the Michielsons have developed a wholesaling network as well. Their products are in stores across Wisconsin and throughout the country. Besides marketing their products under the Maple Hill label, the Michielsons do white-label marketing to businesses as well.

“We started all of this, just the two of us, with no real business experience or anything,” Brian said. “It was really just kind of by the seat of our pants, trial and error. There have been challenges and successes along the way,

but I don’t think we’d trade any of it for another lifestyle.”

DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR

Dairy sheep graze on pasture at Maple Hill Farm July 21 near Ladysmith, Wisconsin. Brian and Tammy Michielson milk East Friesian and Lacaune sheep.

DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR

Tammy Michielson works at making a batch of soap July 21 near Ladysmith, Wisconsin. The Michielsons set up a commercial-grade kitchen for their soap-making enterprise.

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Frazee, MN Becker County

ANDREW INGVALSON

175 cows, 600 acres

We got some rain, and the crops look a lot better. I think a third of the corn might be too far gone, but it should really help the stuff hanging in there. Our silage corn should be a lot better. We did third-crop hay last week and made baleage out of all of it. It was pretty good considering how dry it was. The small grain fields around here are still standing. The soybeans look good as well. We plan to do fourth-cutting hay on the fields I plan to plow up and then get ready for chopping.

Crop & Weather

New England, ND Hettinger County

ARIANN DOE

250 cows, 5,530 acres

We have about 350 acres of second-cutting alfalfa to do. We’ve round baled everything so far. We are hoping to small square some grass hay yet this summer. We were really dry, but this past weekend, we had a nice rain and everything greened up. The durum is still green, and the oats should be swatted within the next week. The barley isn’t ready yet either. Nobody has started small grain harvest, but it’s getting closer. The corn looks really good after the rain and has been tasseling for the last couple weeks.

Rice, MN Benton County

ALAN VANNURDEN

600 cows, 1,400 acres

The corn is hanging in there. We will have silage, but not very good silage; it’s not putting cobs on. The irrigated corn is in roasting ears and stands 10-12 inches tall. On the sandier parts of the irrigated fields, we can’t get enough water on. We are chopping hay today and tomorrow, Aug. 8-9. It’s a secondcrop new-seeding field. Where we can put water on the hay, the fields look good. Near Pierz and Bowlus, I’ve seen people chopping corn. It was 6-7 inches tall, but there were no cobs. We will have to spray for weevils and little grasshoppers in the hay.

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Sleepy Eye, MN Brown County

BENJAMIN SEIFERT

350 cows, 450 acres

We finally got some rain on Sunday, Aug. 6. Some of the corn on the sandier fields is too far gone though. Our corn is just starting to tassel, so the timing of the rain was perfect. There are a couple farmers in the area who are chopping, but that’s mostly on the sandier ground. The rain made the alfalfa shoot up and really helped the soybeans. We cut grass hay on Friday, and that’s still lying in the field. Farmers in the area were working on small grain last week. Near New Ulm, some corn is down because of a recent nasty storm.

Salem, SD McCook County

DENISE KURTH

40 cows, 250 acres

RAINFALL TOTALS

Last 2 Weeks Since April 1 9.4”

2”

We received a muchneeded rain over the weekend. Local rainfall totals varied from 1-4 inches, but we got 2 inches at our farm. The corn is doing well. I have spider mites in my soybeans, so we will have to spray them. Our cows are feasting on grass. The pastures look a bit short but will likely improve with this rain. Our third crop of alfalfa yielded 40 bales from 60 acres. People are baling ditches and sloughs, anything for hay. The grasshoppers are thick.

Goodhue, MN

CHARLIE DICKE

200 cows, 850 acres

We got done with third-crop hay last week. We got about a ton and a half of dry matter per acre. We seeded alfalfa Aug. 2 and 3 after peas. We hauled a bunch of manure on the pea ground. We no-till drilled the alfalfa into the peas twice, and we are anxious to see if it got enough rain. In the neighborhood, oat harvest has been happening, and some sorghum has been cut. The silage corn is still short, and I think we are going to be low on tons.

Orange City, IA Sioux County

LANE HETTINGA

130 cows, 75 acres

Our area saw some nasty weather this past weekend. A tornado was reported on the ground near the town of Sioux Center, which received 10 inches of rain in 6.5 hours. There was a lot of wind and flash flooding in that area. Some soybean fields were flattened, but they seem to be coming back up. Cattle dry lots have been turned into swamps. The worst part of the storms missed our farm by only a few miles, and we received 3 inches of rain. Our corn is looking great.

Elroy, WI Juneau County

RICH HOUZNER

54 cows, 600 acres

We are still in desperate need of some rain this week since the corn is in a critical stage. Corn has pollinated. We switched gears a bit and bought a snaplage head for the chopper. We are hoping to get a max yield instead of waiting to combine it. It’s a different route from what we’ve gone in past years. It’s funny how the old becomes new again depending on the circumstances. There may be a different time frame of harvest, which could be beneficial. We will start third crop next week. There had been rain in the forecast, so we waited. Then the rain missed us, so we’ll have to just go for it.

Anamosa, IA Jones County

DOUG FAIRBANKS

380 cows, 600 acres

We are between thirdand fourth-crop hay. The alfalfa is doing surprisingly well for the circumstances. Any grass hay only got one crop. 100% of people with fully stocked pastures are haying their cattle. We have been haying heifers since July, and usually we would not do that until September or October. If we get some rain in August, the soybeans have a chance to do something. The corn should have had rain in July. We are a couple weeks from chopping corn if we do not get rain.

Chilton, WI Calumet County

MITCHELL SCHAEFER

230 cows, 400 acres

The corn was looking pretty bad, but since it rained, it’s grown a couple feet. We harvested thirdcrop hay Aug. 2 and 3 and probably only had about twothirds compared to second crop because of drought. We did winter wheat the last week of July, and it yielded better than average as we got about 118 bushels per acre. We then chopped wheat straw for dry cow feed and put it in the Harvestore. Pastures have grown from the rain but are still behind, causing us to feed stored feed that we usually don’t need until the fall.

MATT REDETZKE

250 cows, 450 acres

We have had about 1.25 inches of rain in the last three weeks, and most of that was three weeks ago. We are getting really dry again right now. The grass hay we make is pretty much at a standstill and has stopped growing. We have made one crop off the newseeding rye grass. On the established stands, we have made two, but the second was considerably lighter than the first. The corn looks pretty good. The ears are just starting to fill. We plant 97-day corn. The soybeans look good too and are starting to set on pods pretty heavily.

Cuba City, WI Grant County

TIM VOSBERG

140 cows, 380 acres

No rain in August yet. We’re really dry. Crops look amazing, which is shocking to me, but we do need some rain for the beans. Organic corn has tasseled and silked. It looks good; a lot of it has two ears. People are getting ready to do fourth-crop hay. Ours will be a little later; we will do four crops this year, not five. We are combining the second-crop triticale today. It’s late because we took a crop off first. The alfalfa underneath looks pretty good. We did have some hail near Platteville, and it was big. There wasn’t a lot of it, so the crops survived, which is good.

RON & COLIN WUSSOW

100 cows.

1,400 acres

We have had spotty showers over the past three weeks. We finished up the wheat last week and were shocked with how it turned out … high 80s to low 90s for bushels per acre. We started doing oats a few days ago. The bit of rain we had has helped the corn even out a little. We are about a month away from doing corn silage. The soybeans are about waist high and looking pretty good. We did the last pass of fungicide Aug. 8 and are hoping to avoid white mold issues. We finished third-crop hay and will be starting fourth crop Aug. 15. Third crop was a little better than second crop.

Harvard, IL

McHenry County

ALAN AINGER

300 cows, 1,100 acres

Soybeans really improved. Fourth-crop hay looks good – we got enough rain at the right time. We’ll cut that the weekend of Aug. 12 or the beginning of the next week. I’m starting to go out and grab ears of corn, and it’s a wild card out there. Some ears are full and pollinated really well while some ears are small. I grabbed one Aug. 7 that was half pollinated, and some of the kernels that did pollinate were aborting. I think corn yield is going to be a wild card this fall based on how it currently looks.

Stratford, WI Marathon County

Hay sales starts at 12:30 p.m. and are the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the months of September through May.

September 7, 2023

September 21, 2023

For more information, contact Kevin Winter 320-352-3803, (c) 320-760-1593 or Al Wessel at 320-547-2206, (c) 320-760-2979

Grazing heifers as a custom raiser

Redetzke nds balance between efciency, performance

By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com

COLBY, Wis. – When

Mike and Gina Redetzke rst purchased their small farm in 2017, custom-raising dairy heifers was not their original business plan, but fate led them through a series of events that helped them nd a business model that worked for them.

“Our bread and butter is raising dairy heifers,” Mike Redetzke said. “It might not have been the original plan, but it has worked out really well for us.”

The Redetzkes have been custom-raising dairy heifers for the past six years and have a capacity for 240 heifers on their Marathon County farm near Colby. This is their fth year of grazing heifers. Heifers come to the Redetzkes at about 2 months of age, right off of milk, and they return to their home farms about 60 days prior to calving.

They graze heifers on 35 acres and crop an additional 200 acres to provide the stored feed. Last year, they were able to purchase adjoining land and are in the process of developing a plan to double their

fenced-in acres.

Redetzke rst seeded his pasture in 2018, mixing a variety of seed to nd what would best work for his land.

“My brother-in-law had been grazing for 10 or 15 years, and I asked him what he seeded his pasture to,” Redetzke said. “He told me to dump 15 different things in the grain drill, and what is going to grow on your land is going to grow, and you’ll have all your bases covered.”

In the early spring, Redetzke said he typically makes one pass across the grazed land to apply about 50 pounds of nitrogen. When Redetzke rst began contemplating working grazing into their custom heiferraising program, he took into consideration the goals the farmers had for their heifers’ growth.

“These guys want their heifers bred at 13 months of age and an average of 850 pounds,” Redetzke said. “I get them at roughly 200 pounds at 60 days of age. That math comes out to 1.96 pounds per day for what I need to reach those goals.”

Redetzke prices his heifer-

raising cost based on the yearround cost of running his operation, and he uses an average of those expenses. That allows the cost-savings of grazing to be passed on to his customers through a lower daily rate in winter months. As part of his services, Redetzke covers all expenses the heifers incur, with the exception of breeding

costs. That allows the owners to exercise complete control over mating their heifers while they are in Redetzke’s care.

This spring, Redetzke has had to revamp his grazing strategy a bit.

“I typically only graze bred heifers, but right now, I’m a little low on numbers, so to keep up with the pasture for

the rst rotation, I am grazing open heifers,” Redetzke said.

“One of my clients had been renting a place and found one to purchase that had heifer facilities. The others nished up their hay and were wanting to load bred heifers out.”

Turn to GRAZING | Page 25

DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR

Mike Redetzke talks about his grazing program with Marathon County conserva on specialist Brooke Bombeneck at a pasture walk June 15 at Redetzke’s farm near Colby, Wisconsin. Behind Redetzke is his herd of beef cows that act as the third group in a three-group, leader-follower system.

Because of the makeup of his current population, for the rst rotation this year, Redetzke said he is grazing three groups in a leader-follower setup. The group of open heifers graze a paddock rst, followed by the bred heifers. The nal clean-up group is the Redetzkes’ small herd of beef cattle.

“It’s honestly twice as much work to graze three groups in a leader-follower than two,” Redetzke said. “You’d think it would only be 50% more work, but it is actually double the work.”

To achieve his average daily gain goals, Redetzke said he supplements heifers throughout the summer according to their age and needs.

“If I graze them all summer with no supplementation, I come up short of the 1.96 pounds per day,” Redetzke said. “I can hit 1.8 pounds per day, but that puts me about 100 pounds short at breeding age.”

The younger open heifers he is grazing this spring are on pasture 10 to 12 hours per day and then return to the barn where they are fed a ration of winter rye mixed with shelled corn.

“That ration is actually working really well for us right now,” Redetzke said. “One of the problems with running three groups is that the rst group is getting way too much protein and not enough ber. They get super loose, and you lose performance. The winter rye we’re feeding is really high in ber, and we can add a little bit of energy to it with the shelled corn. The manure looks normal.”

By comparison, Redetzke said the older bred heifers need very little supplementation beyond mineral while grazing during the summer. Throughout the winter, all heifers are kept in barns and fed a total mixed ration.

“They do great out here,” Redetzke said of the bred heifers. “If someone were looking to ease their way into custom-grazing heifers, bred heifers would be the easiest place to start.”

Redetzke aims to have heifers on pasture by mid-May, but he did not meet that benchmark this year because of the wet spring.

Redetzke only clips his pastures once after the rst rotation.

“The rst three years I grazed, I clipped; last year I skipped it because I wasn’t really sure it was necessary,” Redetzke said. “I learned it was. What I found was that I lost a lot of potential yield later in the season.”

Considering what he has learned grazing heifers, Redetzke said he sees no benet to raising heifers completely in connement.

“So many guys are stuck on the idea that their heifers have to be fed TMR,” Redetzke said. “But honestly, this pasture is just an ingredient in the TMR. The forage analysis is showing that everything the bred heifer needs, she can eat here on pasture. Even the young ones, with proper supplementation in the barn, can grow and perform just like they would if they were raised in a barn.”

Hydro Cart

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• Honda Engine powered (6 or 9 hp)

• 33, 43, 60, 73 bushel sizes available

DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR

Open heifers graze as the leader group June 16 on Mike Redetzke’s farm near Colby, Wisconsin. Redetzke said he supplements this group with a mix of rye grass and shelled corn to add ber and energy to their diet.

DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR

Bred heifers graze June 16 as the second group in a three-group, leader-follower system on Mike Redetzke’s farm near Colby, Wisconsin. Redetzke said the bred heifers are able to get all the forage they need from pasture, requiring only mineral supplementa on.

Summer surprises

My garden is nally starting to yield enough to eat. Fresh peas, beans, sweet corn and potatoes are lling our plates. I also found my rst ripe tomato the other day, and the yields look promising. Thank goodness the garden is next to the corneld. They have both been getting watered by the irrigation gun every week due to our dry summer conditions.

AJ and Isaac’s garden is in full swing too. We stopped by their place on a four-wheeler ride around the neighborhood as we tried to cool off after milking in a hot barn. They were just coming out of their garden with an armful of zucchini. I’m not a big fan of zucchini, but I do enjoy it covered up in chocolate cake or bread.

As Isaac handed me a big bag of zucchini, I was starting to panic about what to do with his generous gift.

AJ suggested I make zucchini pie. The look on my face must have been utter confusion because she quickly told me it tastes just like apple pie. Now I was really confused. There is no way this is a real thing. Apparently, her family has a pie and crisp recipe using zucchini. She pulled together the parts she liked and created her own version of zucchini pie.

I took the zucchini and her recipes and decided I would at least give it a try. I used my own regular pie crust for my pie and made her lling. I have to say she was right. It did taste

like apple pie, and the pieces held their shape very well. One piece of advice is to make sure you clear out all of the seeds from the slices. The pie tastes ne but looks a little funky with seeds oating around in the lling.

As hot as it has been, I really don’t want to heat up the house cooking, so I decided I was going to try and use my grill a bit more to cook dinner.

Tin foil has become my best friend in the kitchen. I make a pouch out of tin foil and add cubed potatoes, onion slices, butter cubes and a bit of oil along with seasonings. I roll up the top and sides of the foil, securing everything inside. I throw the foil pouches and wet sweet corn on the grill to cook. Add a few hamburgers to the

hot grill, and 15 minutes later, supper is ready. Who needs sweet corn at the state fair when you can cook it at home so easily? Give the Hawaiian salad a try to nish off a simple summer meal. Enjoy!

Zucchini pie by AJ Popp

2 pie crusts

5 cups peeled, seeded, cubed zucchini

2/3 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ginger

Place zucchini and lemon juice in sauce pan; bring to boil. Reduce heat and cover for 8 minutes. Stir in sugar and spices. Cover for another 5 minutes. Spoon into lined pie pan. Cover with crust. Cut vents into top crust. Bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown and juices bubbling through vents.

Zucchini crisp

2 cups our

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup cold butter, cut into small chunks

Combine all ingredients until crumbly. Reserve 1 1/2 cups. Press remaining crumbles into greased pan or heavy skillet. Bake at 375 degrees for 12 minutes. Pour above lling recipe onto crust. Sprinkle remaining crust on top. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.

Apple slab pie by Nancy Dowell

1 box Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons our

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

9 cups thinly sliced, peeled apples (nine medium apples)

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons milk

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Remove pie crusts from pouches. Unroll and stack crusts one on top of the other on lightly oured surface. Roll to 17 inch by 12 inch rectangle. Fit crust into 15-by-10-by-1 pan (jelly roll pan), pressing into corners. Fold extra pastry crust under, even with edges of pan. Crimp edges. Mix sugar, our, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and lemon juice. Stir in apples to coat. Spoon apple mixture into crustlined pan. Bake 33-38 minutes or until crust is golden brown and lling is bubbling. Cool on rack 45 minutes. Mix powdered sugar and milk until well blended. Drizzle over pie. Allow glaze to set before serving, about 30 minutes.

Sweet corn on the grill

Pick ripe ears. Break long dangling leaves off ears. Don’t husk. Soak in cold water. Place on hot grill. Rotate every 5 minutes. Total time on grill about 15 minutes. Using oven mitts to

hold hot cobs, peel back husks and silks. Roll in butter.

Hawaiian tortellini salad by Donna Elick

1 (19 ounces) bag frozen tortellini pasta

2 orange bell peppers, cut into bite size pieces

1 cucumber, cut into quarters and sliced

1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced

16 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved

2 cups diced ham

1 (14 ounces) can pineapple tidbits in juice, divided Bring large pot of water to boil. Cook tortellini according to directions on package. Drain and set aside. Chop ham and vegetables. Reserve pineapple juice from can for the dressing. Set aside. Mix ham, vegetables and pasta together. Make dressing.

Dressing:

1/2 cup mayonnaise or Miracle Whip

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup pineapple juice (reserved from can of tidbits)

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 teaspoon fresh grated garlic

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

In a pint size jar, add dressing ingredients. Shake jar until dressing is combined. Pour over salad and gently toss with salad tongs until well coated.

Food columnist, Natalie Schmitt

Dirt Dessert

From the kitchen of Amanda Zigan, Long Prairie, Minnesota

6 oz cool whip

2 boxes French vanilla instant pudding

3 cups milk

8 oz cream cheese, softened

2 Tbs butter

1 large package Oreos, crushed Gummy worms

Mix pudding and milk with electric mixer. Beat in cream cheese and butter. Fold in cool whip, then fold in crushed Oreos. Garnish with gummy worms.

Bacon cheeseburger tator tot hotdish

From the kitchen of Amanda Zigan, Long Prairie, Minnesota

1 ½ pounds hamburger, browned

3 oz bacon bits

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

32 oz tator tots

1 can condensed cheddar soup

16 oz sour cream

Combine all ingredients and bake at 350 for 45 to 60 minutes. Stir when it is halfway through baking.

DAIRY CATTLE AUCTION

Wednesday, August 16, 2023 at 11:00 am

REPUTATION CONSIGNORS

20 VERY FANCY FRESH 2&3 year old Jersey/Holstein Cross parlor/ freestall cows! The EXTREMELY FANCY kind. Cows avg. 84# 5.2BF, 3.66P, scc 140. 2 and 3 year olds! All TOP cheese merit Jersey and Holstein bulls through Select Sires. Many A2A2 sires. Extensive vaccination program. Owner previously sold many top cows at Premier to very satis ed buyers! Reputation consignor! Coming from Kemper Dairy, Mauston, WI SPRINGING HEIFERS

10 Holstein Springing Heifers, AI bred & AI sired, due Aug. Sept, vac 6 Holstein Springing Heifers, due soon, vac Dairy Herd Pending at the ad deadline

Strawberry salad

From the kitchen of Amanda Zigan, Long Prairie, Minnesota

1 cup crushed pretzels

½ cup chopped pecans

¾ cup brown sugar

¾ cup melted butter

2 cup diced strawberries

8 oz cream cheese

½ cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

8 oz cool whip

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine pretzels, pecans, brown sugar and butter and spread on a greased baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool completely, then break into pieces. In a seperate bowl beat together the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and cool whip. Right before serving combine pretzel mixture, strawberries and cream cheese mixture.

SPECIAL DAIRY HEIFER AUCTION

Tuesday, August 22, 2023 at 11:00 am Always a great selection of Dairy Heifers. Call with your consignments. EXPECTING 300-400 HEAD!

DAIRY CATTLE AUCTION

Wednesday, August 23, 2023 at 11:00 am Always a great selection of dairy cattle at Premier Livestock and Auctions!

MACHINERY AUCTION

Friday, August 25, 2023

9:00 OFFLINE RING • 9:30 ONLINE RINGS (2 RINGS) ACCEPTING YOUR MACHINERY UNTIL OUR LOT IS FULL! Call Curt with any machinery questions, 715-308-9408! AUCTION WILL BE ONSITE AND ONLINE @EQUIPMENTFACTS.COM Go to Equipmentfacts.com for many more details and pictures on these consignments!

FALL ROUND UP SHEEP AND GOAT AUCTION

Thursday, September 28th at 10:00 am!

Accepting Sheep and Goats 5-8:30pm Wednesday evening. Have all sheep and goats in by 9:00am Thursday morning!

herd. Top fresh cows $2,000- 2,500. Other decent quality cows, $1,5001,975. Top Holstein springing heifers $1,650-2,000. Thank you for your business! We appreciate all of our consignors, buyers, and livestock truckers.